First and Ten: Eagles need caution with Vick, more analysis

1. Most national pundits thought the Eagles should have started MichaelVick over KevinKolb if both quarterbacks were healthy heading into Week 2. Now almost everyone is going to be pushing for Vick after he completed 21-of-34 passes for 284 yards and two TDs in a 35-32 win over the Lions on Sunday. Vick proved he is back to where he was in Atlanta, showing dazzling ability to keep plays alive and throwing effortless bombs downfield.

Still, Philly better be careful here. Vick also showed some of his flaws Sunday. Receivers had a hard time handling his short passes and the Lions' inept defensive backs had their hands on a lot of his passes and couldn't corral them. In the long term, Kolb is probably better suited to Andy Reid's West Coach offense and they have to give him a shot. If the Eagles don't start Kolb next week on the road against Jacksonville, they probably can't start him under all that pressure at home against Donovan McNabb and the Redskins. Reid made a commitment to Kolb in the offseason for a reason and he has to see what he has in the younger quarterback before turning over the offense to Vick.

2. When I went to Texas to write about KevinKolb this offseason, I asked him multiple times if he was worried about having MichaelVick over his shoulder. Kolb said not at all. He said the Eagles told him multiple times they expected him to be their quarterback for the next 10 years. It's hard to imagine a possible 10-year run can disappear just like that.

3. The sky has to be falling in Dallas after the Cowboys fell at home to the Bears. Both head coach Wade Phillips and offensive coordinator were clearly out-witted by the Bears coaching staff. But as always, the negative news is being overblown for the Cowboys. TonyRomo still racked up 374 passing yards and there's too much talent on the offensive side of the ball for Dallas not to get hot at some point this season. As for the big-name defense ... well, when JayCutler throws three touchdowns and no picks, you may be in trouble.

4. Congrats to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Boise State of the NFL. Their two early wins are impressive, but will look less so when we look back on them and the Browns and Panthers are both vying for the No. 1 overall pick. Second-year quarterback JoshFreeman has been solid, but he's about to face Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and New Orleans. He may need to focus on coming out of that stretch healthy more than actually winning those games.

5. The Kansas City Chiefs' 2-0 start has a better chance to build into a winning season. They host the 49ers, who looked bad in Week 1 and have a short week after facing the Saints on Monday night. Even though the Chiefs' 16-14 win over the Browns couldn't have been a less attractive football game, head coach ToddHaley seems to have embraced ugly. You don't need a lot of wins to capture the AFC West, so the Chiefs have to realistically believe they have a chance to build on their early success.

6. The Packers' ClayMatthews had three more sacks to up his total to six for the year and already appears to be having a defensive MVP-type season. With AaronRodgers and the offense looking good this smooth, Matthews may be enough on defense to make Green Bay the favorite in the entire NFC.

7. Has Ravens quarterback JoeFlacco regressed because of the defenses they've faced, the offensive line issues or his own shortcomings? He missed numerous receivers against the Jets last week and threw four picks in Baltimore's 16-14 loss to the Bengals. Cincy's defense was relentless, but Flacco's lack of deciveness seemed to be just as big a factor for Baltimore's inability to move the ball.

8. Welcome back 2008 BrettFavre, we missed you. The underthrows and bad decisions looked exactly like the tail end of his Jets days. And as bad as Favre was, the Vikings still had every opportunity to win. They still have playoff-caliber talent around their aged quarterback, so it's too early to count them out as well.

9. MattRyan had to have you worried after the preseason and Week 1. But the young Falcons quarterback looked perfect in their 41-7 blowout win over the Cardinals. He appears to be ready to take that next step from a winning quarterback, to a winning quarterback who puts up huge numbers, like TomBrady did early in his career.

10. It didn't matter if the Titans put Vince Young or Kerry Collins in, the way the Steelers defense is playing right now, no quarterback is going to succeed. Especially in a system like Tennessee where they depend so much on the running game to open things up. No one is running on the Steelers right now.

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